How could I forget? It's been too long since I spent a full moon on top of a hill. LA makes it so easy to be in touch with nature. All you have to do is get in your car and ride for 30 minutes - which on a Friday night can suck. I admit, this traffic conundrum makes you lazy, traffic becomes an excuse, and really, there are many days where you just get tired of sitting in that car and driving, driving, driving. Too bad. But last Friday was the night, we were determined to go. We braved the traffic and were rewarded. Sitting on a mountain top, staring at the moon, the city somewhere below you, behind the range, just an orange glow, too dim for that bright moon you enjoy all by yourself in the midst of millions. Quite magical. Part of the city, part of the cosmos. A dose of calm and quiet and beauty. A bond with the moon and the city, that never makes it easy to enjoy its beauty. Fires have been ravaging the other side of town and the nature over there. And on the way back down from our full moon mountain top we got stuck in a sobriety trap on PCH. 30 cops, 5 crew cars, 10 bikes, a tow truck and a 20 minute crawl to get waved through. But that moon was still up there, shining bright, a silver shimmer on the Pacific. I was all relaxed and calm - it didn't matter how soon we would be home. So easy to be okay with the moment.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
vollmond
How could I forget? It's been too long since I spent a full moon on top of a hill. LA makes it so easy to be in touch with nature. All you have to do is get in your car and ride for 30 minutes - which on a Friday night can suck. I admit, this traffic conundrum makes you lazy, traffic becomes an excuse, and really, there are many days where you just get tired of sitting in that car and driving, driving, driving. Too bad. But last Friday was the night, we were determined to go. We braved the traffic and were rewarded. Sitting on a mountain top, staring at the moon, the city somewhere below you, behind the range, just an orange glow, too dim for that bright moon you enjoy all by yourself in the midst of millions. Quite magical. Part of the city, part of the cosmos. A dose of calm and quiet and beauty. A bond with the moon and the city, that never makes it easy to enjoy its beauty. Fires have been ravaging the other side of town and the nature over there. And on the way back down from our full moon mountain top we got stuck in a sobriety trap on PCH. 30 cops, 5 crew cars, 10 bikes, a tow truck and a 20 minute crawl to get waved through. But that moon was still up there, shining bright, a silver shimmer on the Pacific. I was all relaxed and calm - it didn't matter how soon we would be home. So easy to be okay with the moment.
Friday, September 4, 2009
afterthought
... I should stop getting so worked up about this health care thing. And I am. But it was/is a compelling lesson in the differences in political culture. To me the revelations in this debate made me see Europe as more advanced in its public discourse and functionality. But that is my prerogative, as a European. I read in a fascinating commentary a few days ago in the LA Times, about the period when FDR introduced the Social Security system in the 1930s, that not much really changed since then in the way social reforms are being discussed. A Republican senator among many critical voices that invoked the march of the Red also then, was quoted as saying, that Social Security would "end the progress of a great country and bring the people to the level of the average European."
I guess all the progress I see on the other side was never really appreciated over here. But I do know that those average Germans (which I know the most about) are a lot better informed about policies and issues than the average American. As if on cue, I heard yesterday that many citizens these days write their Congressmen urging them to stop the public option in health care and finishing their e-mails and letters with: "And keep the government out of Medicare!" - which is a truly enlightening statement. Government works so well for them they don't even realize the "evil" bureaucrats have been running and financing it for over 40 years.
I guess all the progress I see on the other side was never really appreciated over here. But I do know that those average Germans (which I know the most about) are a lot better informed about policies and issues than the average American. As if on cue, I heard yesterday that many citizens these days write their Congressmen urging them to stop the public option in health care and finishing their e-mails and letters with: "And keep the government out of Medicare!" - which is a truly enlightening statement. Government works so well for them they don't even realize the "evil" bureaucrats have been running and financing it for over 40 years.
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